Women only affect my ability to spread the fire

Russell felt that the Kingdom of Usedom was not simple at all and had too many tricks.

When the groom heard the word "Knight of Judgment", his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground.

At this point, Russell asked, "Why did you reveal your identity to me?"

In reality, Russell was already prepared for a fight. After all, the police always had to identify themselves before arresting anyone.

However, Friedman's answer was beyond Russell's expectations: "Because you are one of us."

Is this a delaying tactic? I'm a traveler from another world, even if my original incarnation in this world is an Occitania. How can I be considered one of your fellow citizens of the Inquisition in Usedom?

Russell was secretly suspicious, and he was not so easy to believe Friedman.

"I had previously been very skeptical about the authenticity of your female companion, Miss Margaret, and her identity as Walhausen, because I had never heard that the Knight Protector had a daughter or granddaughter."

Ah, that's right, you haven't heard of it, because Margaret is the sister of the Knight Protector.

"But Knight Ludwig's blatant targeting of her allowed me to confirm her identity. Perhaps you don't know that Knight Ludwig is actually a member of the royal family."

Maybe you don’t know, but I actually already know it.

Russell showed surprise at the right moment.

"The royal family has always been secretly targeting the Knights of the Nation, so His Excellency William had no choice but to flee."

Wait, you and Ludwig say something different.

Ludwig was referring to the internal strife within the royal family, which had torn the kingdom apart. That was why William chose not to return to the royal city, but instead to patrol the border all day, fighting small-scale invading demons.

How come you say that William was persecuted by the royal family and had to hide at the border all day?

Well, perhaps there wasn't a contradiction between the two. In the eyes of those close to the royal family, William chose to avoid the center of the vortex, while in the eyes of the Inquisition, William was persecuted by the royal family and left the royal city. There was actually no contradiction between the two.

But the waters of Usedom are really getting deeper and deeper. Such disputes between low-level lords and civilians can even involve infighting among the high-level factions of the kingdom.

The most interesting thing is that your words as a Knight of Judgment are full of hostility towards the royal family... This Usedom is really a mess.

Russell raised his hand to touch his nose, but his purpose was to cover his mouth with his palm to prevent himself from actually laughing.

123 The Past of Usedom

"How do you know Ludwig wants to target Margaret?" Russell asked tentatively.

Friedman took a deep breath, as if a thousand thoughts were flooding his mind but he didn't know where to start.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Don't be fooled by my appearance. I look like a crude warrior. I actually have some knowledge of heraldry and the family history of knights."

"Although the royal family has begun to talk about allowing intermarriage between royal nobles and knight families, and it has caused a lot of discussion, such rumors have been around for more than 50 years."

Friedman's words made Russell raise an eyebrow.

No way, more than fifty years ago, this timing is a bit subtle, right when Margaret set out for the island investigation. It can’t be as bloody as I imagined, right?

However, what Friedman said next made Russell realize that his guess was correct.

"The family the royal family was hoping to marry into was the Knight Protector's family. Perhaps you don't know, but the Knight Protector actually had a sister... Coincidentally, she shares the same name as your lady, also named Margaret. Perhaps your lady was named by the Knight Protector in his memory."

No, no, no, at least the Margaret we are talking about was definitely not the name given by William Wallhausen.

"And the marriage partner recommended by the royal family for Miss Margaret was none other than the then Crown Prince, who is now His Majesty the King."

Well, this is getting more and more ridiculous. Russell frowned.

"The royal family at the time wanted to win over Lord William's father, Lord Ludwig, who was known as the 'Eagle'."

"Because His Excellency the Eagle led a small army to defeat the demons, his reputation was at its peak. This was in stark contrast to the series of tragic defeats suffered by the previous king who led the army himself."

"At the time, people were discussing whether the Burgoni royal family, with their various beastly features, was still capable of protecting the kingdom and whether they should abdicate."

"In order to consolidate their rule, the Burgoni royal family decided to compromise, breaking the rule of maintaining the purity of the royal bloodline and allowing the Crown Prince to marry His Excellency the Eagle's eldest daughter."

Russell scoffed at the royal family's political posturing.

Fifty years later, this rule has not been broken, and it is obvious that the stubborn forces within the royal family are deeply rooted.

It is hard to imagine what kind of targeting and scheming Margaret would face if "Eagle" Ludwig Wallhausen really married his daughter Margaret into the royal family.

Finding someone to take over the body is probably a more optimistic scenario.

"However, His Excellency Eagle politely declined the marriage proposal. Even though he repeatedly pledged allegiance to the royal family, it was still seen as a rejection of the royal family's solicitation."

Hearing this, Russell nodded. Margaret's father, the eagle Ludwig Wallhausen, was indeed a father who could protect his daughter from wind and rain.

Reading Margaret's diary, she had no idea how much pressure her father had to bear when he said lightly, "A daughter of the Walhausen family does not need an arranged marriage."

Although Margaret often missed her father, she never mentioned the nickname "Eagle" or even mentioned it.

Perhaps because he kept a low profile in front of his daughter, Margaret found it difficult to associate this nickname with her father.

Although Russell felt that he had a better understanding of His Excellency the Eagle, he had no idea what Friedman's words had to do with the royal family's scheme against the Walhausen family.

As if seeing through Russell's doubts, Knight Friedman said, "I've read in several different notebooks that His Majesty, then Crown Prince Frederick, wanted to give Miss Margaret a portrait he had painted himself. When he asked His Excellency the Eagle to deliver it, he sternly refused."

Oh? As expected of an Eagle, as the saying goes, there are always wrong names, but there are always wrong nicknames. It seems he's seen through the royal family's tricks.

Russell raised an eyebrow.

"Even Lord Eagle and His Majesty Friedrich had a quarrel, and they parted on bad terms. Although the news didn't spread to the public, everyone who needed to know still knew it. Since then, many people have come to believe that the gift of paintings has a negative connotation. At least the knights of Usedom often use it as a curse."

Russell then understood why Friedman realized that Ludwig was targeting Margaret.

I originally thought that Knight Friedman knew the royal family's secret, but now it seems that he simply judged that Ludwig had targeted me based on his act of sending the painting.

Russell sneered.

It's not surprising. Ludwig probably didn't take me, a foreigner, seriously at all. He was clearly bullying me because I didn't understand the unspoken rules of the social scene in Usedom.

Just as Margaret said, killing this bastard with one blow would be too easy. He had to kill him with his heart, just like Margaret had shown.

Russell made a mental note of Ludwig.

When Friedman saw Russell's expression, he knew that Russell had understood what he said, so he brought the subject back to the main topic.

Friedman looked at the groom, who was so frightened that he almost wet his pants after hearing the royal secrets. He pretended to draw his sword and sneered, "Groom, where did these evil drugs you wizards concoct get?"

The groom mustered up his courage. He crawled over and hugged Friedman's legs, begging, "Master! Master Knight! I, I have no idea. I'm just taking care of the cowherd and his son for my sick wife!"

Friedman sneered: "Your wife?"

"Master! Master! My wife is just a handyman. She doesn't know anything about making medicine!"

Perhaps because he was afraid of being implicated, the groom did not forget to plead for his wife.

Friedman put his index finger and thumb into a circle and put it in his mouth, then blew a whistle. Two knights followed the sound and climbed down into the cellar.

"Go, take this groom to his house and capture his wife! They are all related to witches! Let's find out where the medicine came from!" Friedman waved his hand.

Then he turned to the begging groom and said, "It's not that I can't forgive you, but you have to cooperate and tell me the truth about where the medicine came from! Do you understand?"

"Yes! Yes! Master! My wife and I are both devout Christians. We go to church every week and have never missed a service..."

The groom was dragged away, and his pleading voice to the two knights became increasingly distant.

Only then did Friedman say to Russell, "Mr. Russell, as a foreigner, you may not understand why I am hostile to the royal family, but since you are one of us, I will speak frankly."

Friedman looked around and saw the two patients still in a coma. He lowered his voice and whispered in Russell's ear, "The church generally believes that the royal family is in collusion with wizards."

The author says:

Author's words: Thanks for the tips and coins without a nickname

Thanks to Bloodthirsty Bronze Bull for the reward

Thanks to readers 1639760648 and 1697116370 for the coins

124 Mutation

"Wizard? Collusion?"

Russell is not surprised why Friedman lowered his voice and spoke softly in such an environment.

The royal family does not believe in the official ideology, and such things can really shake their rule.

However, things are not as simple as Russell imagined.

"Yes, those wizards who worship the devil. They claim that they fight at night. Although their bodies lie in bed, their souls are outside their bodies." Friedman's words immediately caught Russell's attention.

"Soul out of body?"

If Russell had not seen Francine and Eleanor with his own eyes, he really would not have believed it so easily.

"Yes, we have interrogated several guys who claimed to be witches. They all said that after taking certain herbs, their souls would fight against demons at night with fennel bundles or sorghum stalks in their hands."

After listening to Friedman's description, Russell thought that these "wizards" might have eaten some strange mushrooms and had hallucinations.

"If they prevail, the crops will be plentiful, the livestock will grow fat, and the vineyards will be protected. It's as if ensuring a good harvest is something these wizards do."

At this point, Friedman shrugged and joked.

"Unfortunately, this is a drought year, and it looks like they have undoubtedly failed."

Russell pointed to the bowl with some medicinal soup left and asked, "Is this the herbal medicine they drink?"

"Yes, that's the medicine. The herbs used to make it are very strange. We once confiscated some from a wizard's house. No knight had ever seen it in the fields, but wizards use it everywhere. It's as if they brought this herb out of a dream."

Friedman glanced again at the unconscious old Ernst and Mark lying in bed, shook his head and sighed, "This isn't a good medicine. The side effects are unpredictable. A knight once took it by mistake and went into the wine cellar to urinate in a barrel, ruining his reputation. It's truly terrible."

Russell always felt that the knight was drunk and used the wizard's medicine as an excuse.

"Those 'wizards' proudly said that it's best to have a wizard present when drinking this kind of medicine. After taking the medicine, they tend to only listen to the wizard's words. And even if a wizard takes the medicine improperly, he will often be unconscious for several days."

Friedman paused, then turned to look at the two patients lying in bed. "These two poor fellows actually found a rough-handled groom to look after them. I don't know how much medicine the groom has stuffed into them, and who knows what strange side effects it will have—"

Before Friedman could finish his words, Mark let out a deafening groan that sounded full of pain.

"See, I said...Lord!" Friedman turned his head and was startled.

Because two pointed wolf ears suddenly grew on Mark's head.

Russell frowned. He was sure that Mark was still a completely human being just now - at least on the surface.

Russell looked at Friedman, only to find that Friedman was in confusion.

"Pure-blooded royals are born with animal-like characteristics, but now a cowherd's son has grown wolf ears after drinking a wizard's herb..."

Friedman muttered to himself, his mind was a little confused, this matter was really unbelievable.

"Mr. Russell, Mr. Friedman, Miss asked me to invite you... Oh! My God! His Royal Highness! It's His Royal Highness!"

A maid climbed down to the cellar, and she seemed to be sent by Elda to invite Russell and Friedman.

However, after following Russell and Friedman's surprised gaze and looking at the young man with animal ears lying on the bed, the maid was horrified and fell to her knees with a thud.

The maid's exclamation was so loud that it caused a small commotion above the cellar.

Friedman subconsciously wanted to draw his sword, but Russell held his hand tightly on the hilt.

Friedman was startled, a look of understanding flashed in his eyes, and he also let go of his hand. Then he looked at Russell with approval.

Clearly, Friedman was onto something.

Although he disliked the royal family in his heart, Friedman, as a member of the ruling class, subconsciously wanted to maintain the dignity of the royal family in front of the common people.

Whether it is a prince living among the people or a wild boy drinking herbs and developing royal sexual characteristics, this is a dissolution of the royal majesty.

However, Russell only stopped him out of a desire to stop him from killing people indiscriminately. Knight Friedman immediately realized that this was a good opportunity for the church to regain the upper hand, so he immediately loosened his grip on the hilt.

After all, the internal struggles among the ruling class are often endless. They will stop fighting after exchanging interests. Before the contradictions can no longer be reconciled, few parties want to kill the other party.

Friedman also realized that he didn't need to say anything now. People who saw this scene would naturally spread rumors all over the world. He just needed to stand on the dry shore and watch coldly.

Friedman was unaware of the Burgoni royal family's tricks in seizing the body, so all he could think about was how the church could profit from this incident.

Russell didn't think about political issues at first. He now doubted Mark's true identity.

Was Mark possessed by those dead souls? When was he possessed? After being possessed by the royal spirit, can the royal sexual characteristics be stimulated through sorcerer's methods?

Regarding these relevant details, Russell felt it necessary to go back and ask Eleanor, who was still imprisoned in the painting by Rosaline's spell.

However, if Mark was not possessed by another body, and he just grew wolf ears after drinking the wizard's herbs, then what exactly is this Burgoni royal family that can possess another body and has animal characteristics?

Russell considered it from a different perspective.

At least, no matter what, it became a very simple matter to clear the innocent old Ernst's name.